The Lost Sheep Job
by Cleopatra21780
Summary: A con goes wrong and Nate and Sophie end up missing in action. Can the rest of the team rescue them before it's too late? Nate/Sophie Eliot/OC
1. Chapter 1

There was something wrong. Nate wasn't sure what it was but something was a bit off. Maybe it was the con going so well, everything they had planed out was going off with out a hitch, something that very rarely happened. Maybe he was being overly paranoid, but usually when something felt wrong something was wrong. Sophie smiled at him from next to him. She looked stunning in a black evening gown accompanied by a string of simple black pearls. Her smile made him feel a little more at ease, but he wouldn't be completely comfortable until the con was closed.

He sighed and put his game face on as the mark walked over to them.

________________________________________________________________________

"What do you mean you've lost them?"

Hardison shrunk a little as Eliot yelled. He didn't blame the hitter for being upset, Nate and Sophie were supposed to have checked in two hours earlier. It just wasn't like them to miss a check in, especially Nate.

"They checked in when they left the party and were supposed to call when they got back to the hotel. The GPS in Nate's car shows them still at the party." Hardison pointed to his computer screen. "I've tried them on the comms and no response, I've tried Nate's cell, goes right into voice mail and Sophie's is laying on the counter in the kitchen because it wouldn't fit into her purse."

"Maybe they wanted to be alone." Parker suggested.

"Not before they checked in." Eliot stated firmly.

"What's going on?" Layla asked as she came in. She had gone into the back to change and had missed the conversation.

"Nate and Sophie are missing." Parker told her quietly.

"What?" Layla looked from Hardison to Eliot.

Eliot looked up meeting the car thief's eyes, sending her a silent message. She nodded and disappeared toward the back of the suite again.

"They're not missing. I just can't find them." Hardison spoke up. He didn't want Eliot and Layla both on his case. The pair was scary enough when they were mad at each other he didn't want that anger turned on him.

"Maybe we missed something." Eliot said bending slightly to look at the computer screen.

"Like what?" Hardison asked.

"I dunno, something. Go over the guest list, see if anyone jumps out." Eliot growled out. "Layla and I'll go check out Nate's car."

"What about me?" Parker asked.

"Keep Hardison focused and keep trying to call Nate's phone." Eliot told her as he walked into the back.

He found Layla sitting on their bed note pad sitting on her lap and phone pressed to her ear. He also noticed that she had put on her boots and a hooded sweatshirt.

"I really appreciate this. Yeah I'll give you a call as soon as I know when we'll be able to confirm the new reservations. Thanks again." She slid her phone shut and looked over at Eliot. "Everything's on hold till we call."

Eliot nodded tossing the dress shirt on the bed and pulling on a flannel. He traded his dress slacks for a pair of jeans. He was so focused in what he was doing that he almost jumped when Layla touched him. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath.

"We'll find them." She whispered talking his hand in hers.

"I know." He squeezed her hand. "We were there, Layla. We spent the whole night watching them make nice with the mark. We should have waited for them. Then maybe.."

"What, Eliot? We'd have gotten taken as well?" She squeezed his hand tighter. "There was nothing we could do. Nate told us to leave they had the mark where they needed him."

"I know." Eliot replied quietly, still feeling like there was something he should have been able to do.

"I'll wait for you out there." She kissed his rough cheek and turned to leave only to have him stop her before she was out the door.

"Do you still want to," He paused causing her to raise an eyebrow.

"Of course I do." She told him, concern seeping into her voice.

"That's not what I meant." He took a deep breath. "When we find Nate and Sophie we tell them, ok. Parker and Hardison too."

Layla nodded suddenly understanding what he was trying to tell her. She had never seem him so unnerved. Moving quickly she kissed him soundly and deeply this time before they both returned to the front room.

"I think I got something." Hardison told them as they entered the room.

"Someone off the guest list?" Eliot asked.

Hardison shook his head. "Not exactly. Someone just checked them out of their hotel room."

"How'd you find that out?" Layla asked.

"I called the hotel. It was the only other thing I could think of doing. The night receptionist said we just missed them." Hardison told them.

"I told Nate it was a bad idea to stay in separate hotels." Eliot growled.

"I hacked the hotel's security feed and got a picture. I'm running it through the facial recognition software then I'll cross check the name with the guest list and the mark's employee list." Hardison informed them.

"Where's Parker?" Layla asked.

"Oh I sent her to look through Nate and Sophie's room at the other hotel. My thought is if they checked them out they probably tossed their room first."

"Parker you be careful." Eliot told the blond thief.

_Always._ Was the response that came back over the comm.

________________________________________________________________________

"I've got a bad feeling about this." Layla told Eliot as they pulled to the top of the parking garage.

Nate's rental car sat alone at the top, which caused the car thief more unease. She had never seen a parking garage so empty before. Eliot parked their rental off in the shadows and was about to get out when Layla stopped him.

"Hardison, can you make sure the security cameras on the parking garage don't see us."

_Sure. You think someone is watching?_

"Dunno, just a feeling."

_You're good to go._

"Thanks Hardison." Layla said breathing a bit easier.

She slid out of the car followed shortly by Eliot. She walked over slowly to the car. She didn't care for new cars, they just didn't have the care or love put into them that a classic did. But just because she didn't care for them didn't mean she couldn't get into them or steal them.

She had the lock on the driver's side door popped in seconds flat. She slid into the seat and smiled a little. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, that is until Layla went to adjust the seat. Her finger tips brushed against something small. She shifted in the seat until she was upside down looking under the seat. Pulling a pen light from her sweatshirt pocket she pushed it on looking steadily under the dark seat. What she saw made her holler for Eliot.

"What?" He asked coming to skidding stop next to the open door.

"Look." She told him shifting so he could look under the seat with her.

_What's going on guys?_ Hardison's voice came over the comms.

"We know why we couldn't get them on the comms." Eliot told the hacker as Layla's smaller hand reached under the seat and pulled the two ear pieces out as well as Nate's cell.

_Well get back here. I'll take care of the car through the rental office computers._

Eliot helped Layla out of the car, before making sure the car was shut tight.

________________________________________________________________________

"Nate must have known someone was following them." Layla sighed as she tossed the items on the table next to Hardison.

"And didn't want them to know about us." Parker finished.

"What did you find at the hotel?" Eliot asked shoving a hand through his hair.

"Nothing." Parker shrugged. "And I mean nothing. Whoever did this is a pro. All their clothes were gone as well as the bed made and furniture wiped clean."

"What about your search Hardison?" Layla asked.

"Nothing from the guest list, but I'm expanding my search." He sighed. "Why don't you guys try to get some rest. I'll let you know as soon as something turns up."

The three of them sighed, they all knew they weren't going to get any sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I own nothing. (that was suppose to be on the first part) This part was really suppose to only be a small something that would have gotten attached to the next part but someone had to say something in the review that kicked my muse in the bum. **cough**KausingKayne**cough** So I hope you like. Review please**

Nate's head throbbed and he could feel blood ooze from the left corner of his mouth. He still managed to smile and look up at the blond standing in the corner of the small room. He recognized her the second the guards had pulled the black hood off his head. That's why he knew the only reason they were beating him without asking any questions was because it was a personal vendetta.

A fist connected with Nate's stomach and he felt the wind leave him. He regained his composure quickly and smiled again. He could tell her stone facade was starting to crumble as Nate refused to be broken. Another hit and Nate continued to smile. With a loud snort she spun on her heal and stalked off. A final blow came and Nate saw nothing but darkness.

He woke with his head cradled in Sophie's lap. She had been crying and was using the hem of her dress to dab at the corner of Nate's mouth.

"You're going to ruin your dress." He rasped out.

"It's already ruined." She murmured kissing his forehead. "Why are they doing this?"

"Revenge." Nate groaned as he rolled over and stood up.

He walked the perimeter of the cell slowly. He didn't see any weakness to the surrounding chain-link. The chain and lock on the door seemed easy enough that either one of them could pick it.

"Nate don't."

Sophie tried to warn him but was too late. Nate yanked his hand away from the door as a current of electricity flowed through his hand and up his arm. He doubled over in pain and swore loudly. He felt Sophie wrap an arm around him and guide him over to one of the chairs. She knelt in front of him and held her welted right palm out for him to see.

"I already tried that." She told him softly. "So revenge? Is this something we're going to be blaming you for later?"

"Probably." Nate chuckled and flexed his numb hand. "If we make it that long. I have a feeling we're not here to be house guests." He looked down into her beautiful eyes and smiled sadly.

"And that you would be right Nathan." The tall blond woman walked out from the shadows. "You're stay with us is going to be short, long enough to settle on a price for your removal."

"Always such a pleasure to be around." Nate told her with a smile. "Insurance investigation not your thing?"

"You would know. After your slandering review no other insurance company would hire me. So I had to do my own thing as it were, and I seem to have found my nitch after all." She smiled coldly at them. "It doesn't really surprise me to see you've fallen in with someone of her ilk."

Sophie puffed up a bit at the insult. She was one of the best at her job. Nate being the only one to ever come close enough to catch her, until now. Sophie shivered. The woman had no soul she could tell just by looking in her eyes.

"Now I'm hired to take care of a company's internal affaires." She said smiling once again.

Nate nodded. Things were starting to fall into place. The misgivings their client's husband had felt about the company's work. His want to go the police about it. He had been making noise in the company and even if he had just gotten fired he would still have had enough to go to the cops about.

"You must have a very lucrative business then." Nate replied.

"I do, and you two will just make it that much more. I expect Pulson to pay 2.5 million a piece for you." She stopped as the Blackberry beeped on her hip. "I do so hate to end our conversation, but I have a phone call to take.

With that she turned and left the two alone in their cell.

________________________________________________________________________

He woke with a start. He didn't even mean to doze off, but somewhere between the stress and worry he had. A familiar weight was pressed deeply into his side. He looked down only to have pale blue eyes meet his. Eliot mouthed an apology which caused Layla to shrug. She must not have been sleeping or not sleeping soundly. He untangled himself from her and stood up. The clock on the wall read 2:30 am. He sighed, they had barely been laying on the couch an hour. Parker was curled up in a chair, moving every few seconds to try to find a better spot. Hardison was still sitting at the large round table pouring over anything he could think of to help them find Nate and Sophie.

"I don't have anything yet." Hardison said as he stretched tired muscles.

Eliot just shrugged, pulling a chair over to sit next to the hacker. Something was bothering him. Something he knew he should be remembering. Some small little detail that could mean life or death for his friends. That's when it hit him and he was suddenly wide awake.

"Pull up security feed from the party." Eliot informed the hacker.

He slipped on his glasses and watched as Hardison pulled up the video. He watched as Nate and Sophie entered the room and started to mingle among the other guests. Half an hour later he watched himself and Layla enter.

"Now we stayed on that side of the room most of the night." Eliot murmured mostly to himself. "There."

"Where?" Hardison asked trying to see what the hitter was pointing to.

"The tall blond with the two goons." Layla said from behind Hardison, causing him to jump out of his chair.

"Damn it, Layla." Hardison swore before sitting back down. He zoomed in on the tall blond woman standing with two other men.

"I thought they were hired security." Eliot said.

"How could you tell?" Hardison squinted at the picture.

"Do they look dressed for this type of event?" Eliot replied pointing to the trio, who were dressed down compared to the other guests. "Besides they were armed."

"Look at her." Layla commented as she watched. "She never takes her eyes off of Nate."

They watched another twenty minuets and sure enough the blond kept her eyes on the Mastermind the entire time.

"I'll run her face through my system. It still may take a while." Hardison replied.

"Yeah but at least we've got something." Eliot replied running a hand over his face.

Layla squeezed his shoulders before returning to the couch. She took a moment to look over at Parker. The petite blond thief was awake and listening, but not moving from her spot in the chair.

"Want to make a food run?" Parker asked.

Layla sighed and nodded. Going on little sleep and no food was not an option for any of them. They had no idea what they were going up against and it was better to at least try to keep their strength up.

"I'll even let you drive." Layla told Parker as they stood up.

Hardison's head shot up and almost spun completely around.

"Remember that's a rental." Hardison yelled after them. "I can see it now explaining to the rental place how their car got damaged. 'Sorry but our car thief was teaching our other thief how to drive and neither one of them know the concept of slow.'"

Eliot chuckled. Hardison was right, to a point. But Hardison was being Hardison and over dramatizing everything.

"She's your woman…"

"Wife."

"…you could…what?"

"Wife." Eliot repeated slowly with a sigh.

"No." Hardison laughed then stopped as he took in the serious look on the hitter's face. "I'll be damned. When the hell did that happen?"

"Right before this job." Eliot refused to look at Hardison, instead concentrating on the faces flying by on the computer screen.

"What did you guys do, wake up one morning and decide today was a good day to get married? People just don't do that. You propose, then the girls get all giggly and fuss and fawn over the engagement ring. Then you set a date, send out invitations…dude you let your best friend throw you a bachelor party. I would have too, strippers, the works, but no." Hardison rambled.

Eliot continued to stare at the computer screen. He was trying not to feel guilty about not telling anyone what they had done. Hardison had been right, it had been a spur of the moment decision on their part. Nate had given them a weekend off, so he and Layla had packed a bag, hopped in the truck and took off. They had started out on the highway, but a major accident that had them stuck in traffic caused Eliot to take the first exit he came to. They drove on back country roads for a good ten miles before they found the small bed and breakfast.

The older woman that had greeted them asked if they were on their honeymoon. Layla had smiled politely and told her no. The woman had frowned at that, obviously old fashioned in her views, but somehow Eliot found comforting. Still the woman put on a smile and gave them a room key before informing Layla that her husband was the local minister and was used to doing unions at a moments notice. Layla smiled again and thanked the woman. He knew just by watching her face and the uneasy smile she gave him, what Layla was thinking. They had never talked about getting married. They really had never talked much about the future. Before he even realized what he was doing he was asking her if she wanted to get married. It wasn't a typical proposal. He didn't get down on a knee and ask like most men do. In return she had just smiled, shrugged and said why not. They didn't even have rings

The computer beeped loudly pulling Eliot of the memory. Hardison smirked as he looked at the name that now went with the face. Things may just have taken a turn in their favor.

________________________________________________________________________

"Hardison wants more orange soda." Parker informed Layla as they wondered through the twenty-four hour mini mart.

"Huh?"

"Hardison just text me. He wants more orange soda."

Layla nodded pulling a couple two liters off the shelf and into the cart. The car thief sighed as Parker's phone beeped with another text. She looked over at the blond thief, stopping when she noticed the wide eyed look on her face.

"What?" Layla asked suddenly scared.

"When were you going to tell me that you and Eliot got married?"

"Parker," Layla tried to find the words so her friend wouldn't be so hurt.

"You said we were best friends and this is defently something you share with your best friend…"

"Parker," Layla grabbed her gently by the wrist. "We didn't tell anyone."

"Then how does Hardison know?" The blond thief sniffed.

"Eliot must have told him." Layla shrugged. "We were going to tell everyone after we found Nate and Sophie. We didn't mean to hurt anyone, its just," Layla sighed this was not how she had wanted to have this conversation with Parker. "you know how when you see just the right painting and you know you just have to steal it?"

Parker nodded.

"Well that's how it was for us. We just knew it was the right time. We didn't plan on getting married, but it happened anyway."

Parker thought it over for a bit and then smiled. "I understand. I still would have made a great maid of honor though."

Layla laughed and nodded. "Come on let's finish up and get back. Hardison has to have something by now."


	3. Chapter 3

"**Her name is Claudette Morrow. Eight years ago she worked for IYS as a junior investigator." Hardison told the other three as he brought up a picture of a tall blond. "Her immediate supervisor was Nate, he tried to show her the ropes, but according to her personnel files she had Eliot's mentality. Bash heads in first ask questions later. In the long run she ended up costing IYS more money than she helped save."**

"**So what's her connection to the mark?" Layla asked.**

"**She started her own business called," He paused letting his fingers fly across the keyboard. "Terminal Investments."**

"**Terminal Investments, that sounds kind of,"**

"**Final." Eliot finished Layla's sentence.**

"**Yeah well that's because it is. In the past five years she's worked for nine different companies and each time she works with a company several people have gone missing. Usually it's the ones that have caused problems within the company,"**

"**Like our client's husband." Parker said.**

"**Exactly. Ten to one she would have recognized Nate, Sophie too probably." Hardison nodded.**

"**She must have told the mark, who gave the order to take them." Layla thought out loud.**

"**How did we miss this when we started the con?" Eliot asked the hacker, a little peeved that something like this had been overlooked.**

"**Because she's not really on the payroll." Hardison told him. "When the guy at the hotel didn't send up any red flags on the guest list or our mark's company I broadened my search and came across this."**

**Hardison fingers flew over the keyboard again pulling up an list of corporate accounts.**

"**This account, Clean and Quiet, was posted three days after our client's husband went missing. I ran the account numbers and they took me to an account held by Terminal Investments, and that's what lead me back to Morrow. I went through all the companies she's had dealings with and all of them had an account labeled the same way. All of which had funds posted to it seventy-two hours after said person or persons went missing."**

"**So we have two days before," Parker started then stopped herself. "Why does she wait?"**

"**My guess it has something to do with her boat." Hardison told them. "On day three she takes her boat out always for a week at a time and always just out to sea."**

"**She's probably taking them out to international waters. It'd be an easy way to get rid of the bodies without anyone noticing." Eliot mused. "So where is she holding Nate and Sophie?"**

"**Probably here." Hardison pulled up a picture of a warehouse. "It's right on the waterfront about a mile down from where her boat's docked."**

"**How's security?"**

"**From what I could get from outside cameras in the area pretty tight. At least four guards on duty, two that stay in front of the door and at two that do sweeps every fifteen minuets and who knows how many on the inside. Not to mention a security system on the door itself."**

"**What about hacking the system?" Layla asked.**

"**I tried. They've got codes and clearances that change every ten minuets. I'd need at least two days just to prepare something to get into it."**

"**So let me get this strait. We've got to break into a warehouse that's better guarded than an army base and we have to do it in less than two days?" Eliot said.**

"**And don't forget we don't even have the layout of the place." Parker reminded everyone.**

**Eliot flopped back in his chair with a huff. "Thanks for reminding us Parker."**

"**I was just saying." Parker replied defensively.**

"**Well don't."**

"**What if you had a direct feed? Something that allowed you to use their IP address or at least let you mask ours as theirs." Layla asked ignoring the others.**

**Something had caught her eye watching the guards. Something one of them had done while they were standing there.**

**Hardison quirked an eyebrow. "I'd need to plug in directly…girl what's going on in that scary head of yours?"**

"**I got an idea." Layla said with a smirk.**

**Eliot groaned. He had a feeling he wasn't going to like this idea as he watched Layla get up and bolt toward their room.**

**________________________________________________________________________**

"**You're crazier than Parker." Eliot told Layla as he pulled the beat up truck to a stop in front of the warehouse. The truck had been Eliot's idea, something noticeable but not overly suspious. The tags had been linked a false id so no red flags would pop up.**

"**But you love me anyway." She murmured. "How long before you think they notice us?"**

"**Not long if they're any good." Eliot looked through the binoculars. "I still don't like this idea of yours."**

"**I thought you would. If you had said something earlier I could have done this with Parker."**

**Eliot whipped his head around to look at her. "You and Parker?"**

"**Yeah." She said with a smirk.**

**Eliot groaned knowing she was teasing him, even as images filtered through his head. Layla laughed and slid across the bench seat as he grabbed her pulling her to him. She straddled his lap smiling down at him.**

"**You ready?" Eliot asked noticing the two armed guards walking toward the truck.**

"**Always." Layla smiled stripping out of her sweatshirt and t-shirt underneath before capturing Eliot's lips in a searing kiss.**

**They were careful not to get too caught up in the moment, knowing that this could mean life or death for Nate and Sophie, but made it real enough that when the guards tapped on the window it looked like they had been in the middle of things. On the second round of tapping they separated a bit and Eliot rolled down the window.**

"**Is there something wrong?" Layla asked giggling.**

"**This is privet property you're going to have to leave." The older of the two ordered.**

"**Sorry, we didn't know." Eliot replied with a smile.**

"**Yeah," Layla leaned a bit out the window, the action causing her to show more cleavage than nessacery. "We've got two kids at home and a babysitter that doesn't scare easy so we were just trying to get some alone time in."**

**The younger guard smiled and nodded never meeting Layla's eyes. The older guard's face softened a bit.**

"**I remember those days, but you're still going to have to leave. I'm sorry." He told them.**

"**That's ok." Eliot replied. "I'm sure the little ones have thought of some way to terrorize the sitter by now."**

**Layla shifted off Eliot's lap and pulled her shirts back on as he started the truck and took off. When they were a good two blocks away she grinned and pulled out the Blackberry she had palmed off the younger guard. They glanced at one another before breaking into laughter.**

**________________________________________________________________________**

"**Girl I could kiss you." Hardison told Layla as he connected the Blackberry to his laptop.**

"**That's how she got it." Eliot told him as he paced. "How much longer?"**

"**I've got live feed."**

**They all gathered around Hardison and his laptop. The images it showed gave them little hope, but it was enough. They both looked like they had been put through the wringer, but not terribly damaged.**

"**You see that." Parker said pointing to the cage Nate and Sophie were in.**

"**Yeah I see it." Eliot replied.**

"**Well for those of us that aren't superhuman, enlighten us." Hardison groused.**

"**The cage door is electrified." The hitter informed him.**

"**It must be an improvisation." Layla commented. "That's shoddy work at best." She said pointing to the car batteries attached to the mettle door.**

"**If you had Nate and Sophie locked up wouldn't you want something to keep them from picking the lock." Hardison muttered.**

"**We've got about twenty-six hours to figure out how we're going to get them out." Eliot said looking at his watch.**

"**Well according to this Claudette is going to be at a business meeting tomorrow morning from nine until eleven. The boat trip is scheduled for noon." The hacker pointed to the computer screen, with Morrow's schedule up.**

"**Will they leave without her?"**

**Hardison turned to look at Eliot. He could see the gears turning in the other man's head.**

"**What are you thinking, man?"**

"**Divide and conquer." The hitter replied with a smirk. "Find out where she'll be exactly and what she's driving."**

"**You want me to steal her car?" Layla asked.**

"**Nah what I have in mind you won't like."**

**________________________________________________________________________**

"**Is this what she did with our client's husband?" Sophie asked as she paced their cell.**

"**More than likely." Nate murmured standing. He put his hands on her shoulders to stop her from making another circuit.**

**He guided her over to the cot and sat down pulling her with him. She snuggled into his embrace resting her head on his chest. Nate savored this. Burning this memory deep in his mind, hoping there were going to be many more, but that all depended on the rest of the team.**

"**Nate?"**

"**Hmm?" He gently rubbed small circles on her back.**

"**Do you think they know what's going on?" She asked softly.**

**Nate smiled knowing exactly who 'they' were.**

"**Yeah I do. And I think they are working something out right now." He kissed the top of her head.**

"**What if they can't get to us in time?"**

**It was one of the few times he had heard Sophie sound scared. He held her tighter knowing he had to be strong for her, even though he was scared too.**

"**They will sweetheart, I promise." He sighed. "Try and get some rest."**


	4. Chapter 4

"You know this goes against everything I believe in as a car thief." Layla informed Eliot as she slowly walked toward Morrow's Caddy.

_I know sweetheart_ Eliot's soothing voice came across the comm.

She sighed heavily. If this wasn't a life or death matter she would have protested, but as it was her curiosity was peeked at what this was going to do to the polished Cadillac in front of her.

"Do I want to know where this idea of yours came from?" She asked with a smirk as she popped the hood of the car.

_Mythbusters_ was his only reply.

Layla just shook her head and opened the oil cap. She pulled out a bottle of oil, the contents of which had been emptied and replaced with a powdery sand. She made sure to use a funnel as not to spill any of the sand to give away the impression that the car had been tampered with.

"If this works she won't make it out of the parking lot." Layla commented with a smirk as she replaced the oil cap and closed the hood.

_That's what we're hoping for._ She could hear the smile in Eliot's voice.

Claudette Morrow walked out of the building ten minutes later. Layla watched carefully as she got into the shiny black Cadillac. She had been wrong about Claudette not making it out of the parking lot, she never made it completely out of the spot she was parked in.

"Get ready Hardison."

________________________________________________________________________

Hardison was having a difficult time keeping his laughter to a minimum as he listened to Parker try to sooth an irate Claudette Morrow. He had routed her call to AAA to them.

"Yes ma'am, I understand." Parker told her in a sickly sweet voice. "We'll have someone out there as soon as possible. But just so you know it could take anywhere from an half an hour to an hour."

Parker jumped a bit as Morrow swore and hung up. She handed the phone over to Hardison with a smile.

"Now all we have to do is wait." Hardison told Eliot as he came out.

"Parker get ready. We leave as soon as she calls." Eliot told the blond. "Layla, sweetheart, keep an eye on her. I'll let you know when to head back."

The phone rang again loudly, this time Hardison answered.

"Terminal Investments." He answered.

Morrow's voice rang loudly over the phone barking orders at Hardison about moving the trip back.

"Yes ma'am I'll take care of it." Hardison hung up the phone. "I really hope this works, man."

"Yeah, so do I." Eliot muttered as he held the door open for Parker.

________________________________________________________________________

"Nate." Sophie whispered as two guards walked toward their cell.

"Over here. Hands through the slot." One of them ordered.

Nate nodded to Sophie to comply. When they had done as asked the guards bound their hands with zip ties.

"You're ride's here." The guard gloated. "Won't be long now and you can meet Jimmy Hoffa."

They removed the jumper cables from the door and unlatched the door.

"Sophie, whatever happens…" Nate started softly.

The grifter put her hands against his lips to stop him from saying anything else.

"I know." She told him, tears in her eyes.

They each were grabbed roughly by the guards and hauled outside where a large SUV was waiting. A blond was sitting behind the wheel, but Nate couldn't make out her face. She seemed a bit too short to be Morrow, but he wouldn't truly trust his eyesight now. They were shoved roughly into the backseat and a guard slid in after them slamming the door shut. The front passenger door opened and another guard got in. Once again Nate had the feeling that something wasn't quite right. And the feeling was confirmed when the blond driver floored the gas before the passenger had time to shut the door.

"You two really know how to get into trouble." Eliot told them as he turned around in the passenger seat.

"Seriously do you go looking for it or does it just know where to find you?" Hardison chimed in from next to Nate.

Sophie let out a squeal of delight at seeing her teammates. She lurched forward flinging her bound arms around Eliot's neck and hugging him for all that it was worth. Eliot chuckled pulling out a pen knife, freed Sophie's hands from the zip ties. She rubbed her wrists gingerly as she watched Eliot do the same for Nate.

"Where's Layla?" Nate asked.

"Making sure Morrow is busy." Eliot replied with a smirk.

"And making sure the police find her." Parker spoke up as she turned a corner, causing the tires to squeal.

"NO more driving lessons from Layla." Hardison shouted at the blond, causing her to giggle.

"What did you do?" Sophie asked.

"Found out that the nice new Caddy she's driving belonged to one of her victims. I hacked into the local police system and reported stolen." Hardison said with a toothy grin.

"About the time we picked you up Layla should have made a call to the police letting them know she noticed an odd looking female in the parking lot of the Brooks and Sons office building." Eliot told them. "Once the cops get there she'll meet us at the airport."

"We've got the first flight out of here." Hardison told them.

Eliot happened to look out the passenger side window in time to see the rental Layla was using fly past. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach as he sung around to look at Parker.

"Turn around." He ordered.

"What?" He heard multiple voices ask.

"Parker turn the damn car around." He watched as they started to protest again. "Just do it!"

Parker slammed on the breaks and twisted the steering wheel causing the SUV to make an hundred and eighty degree turn. She then floored the gas speeding off after the other car.

"Eliot is that…" Hardison started looking between the two seats.

"Yeah it is." Eliot said as he opened the door before the car actually came to a stop.

He watched in a mixture of rage and horror as Claudette Morrow pulled Layla out of the car, mostly by her hair.

"I should have known there were more than just the two of you." Morrow screamed, waving the gun in her free hand around. "It was careless of you to send someone to spy on me that I remember seeing at the party."

Morrow yanked hard on Layla's hair causing her let out a small yelp of pain.

"How about I put a bullet in her head right now what do you say?" Morrow asked pointing the gun at Layla.

"You don't want to do that Claudette." Nate informed the hostile woman.

"You going to stop me, Ford?" She asked with a smirk.

"No, but I give Eliot here five seconds before he comes over there and rips your arms from their sockets and beats you to death with them." Nate replied. He was going to tell her that the police were on their way but the way the hitter was looking, his money was on Eliot killing her before they even heard a siren.

Morrow just laughed, her stance relaxing a bit. It was then something happened that surprised both the hitter and the mastermind. Layla grabbed the woman's hand that held the gun and bit down hard on the inside of her wrist, causing the gun to drop and her to let go of the car thief's hair. Free from her capture's grasp, Layla slammed her booted heal down on Morrow's instep. As the blond bent forward in pain, Layla's elbow shot back and connected with the bridge of Morrow's nose, effectively dropping her to the ground.

Layla calmly walked away from Morrow, kicking the offending weapon a good thirty feet away as she did. Nate stood a bit shell shocked as the car thief walked past him and into the arms of the hitter. Eliot on the other hand was beaming with pride, kissing Layla soundly as she snuggled into him.

Hardison was smirking as he poked his head out the door of the SUV.

"We need to get out of here the cops will be here with in five minutes." Hardison yelled.

"Did you teach her that?" Nate asked Eliot as they got back into the car.

"No." Eliot shook his head with a chuckle as they climbed into the very back of the SUV.

"Can we just go home now?" Parker asked, having been forced out of the driver's seat by Hardison.

"Yeah cause some people have married life to get on with." Hardison muttered pulling the SUV away from the waterfront.

"Damn straight." Eliot replied.

Nate and Sophie both turned to look at the couple in the back seat, who had settled into one another and were already starting to doze off. Nate shook his head and turned back around. He'd worry later about the complications that may or may not come from this bit of news. Right now he was too tired to be anything but grateful. Sophie snuggled into his side sighing. Her breathing soon growing steady and even as she too dozed off. Nate smiled.

"Hardison, how about we just drive home?" He asked the hacker as he shifted in the seat to get comfortable. "Wake one of us in a hour and we'll let you get some sleep."

Hardison just smiled and nodded.

"I'll play the license plate game with you." Parker volunteered.

"You're on." the hacker said with a laugh.


End file.
